Officer Bailey has been working with the Greensboro Police Department for 10 years.

By Victoria Starbuck, Staff Writer

Published in print Jan 14, 2015.

      Since 2012, “Coffee with a Cop” has been held with police departments across the nation. The goal of the program is to create a cordial meeting place for concerned citizens and police officers to discuss issues within the local community and get to know one another on a personal level.

    At Chick-fil-a on West Friendly Avenue, Officer Greg Bailey facilitated Greensboro’s second “Coffee with a Cop” event.

     “We talk about anything,” said Bailey. “I get a lot of questions about traffic tickets.”

     Raised in Long Island, Bailey can remember the distrust he carried for police officers at a young age.

Although his father worked in law enforcement, he does not recall encountering another minority officer in the area.

     “When a young guy goes through The Academy in New York, he’s going to come out and be sent to places like   Flatbush, Brooklyn. He doesn’t know how to work in that environment. He gets culture shock.”

    Negative experiences with police on the streets of Long Island discouraged Bailey from joining law enforcement at a young age.

    “I was in the music scene, I had a rap group,” said Bailey. “I began to think how can I get my voice out, how can I be heard?”

     Forging a new path with the aid of his high school diploma, Bailey graduated from the Police Academy in 1995. Since then, his goal has been to create a more diverse and open police department.

    “I had one guy ask me how I could do it,” Bailey reminisced. “I asked him ‘what do you mean?’ and he said ‘working next to corrupt guys.’ I said, ‘Somebody’s got to keep their eyes on them.’”

    Bailey believes that police should patrol the neighborhoods that they live in work in. He believes that a police department should reflect its citizens.

Bailey has been working with the Greensboro Police Department since 2005.

    As a part of the Community Resource Team, Bailey focuses on bridging the gap between citizens and cops. Developments such as Neighborhood Watch, Apartment Watch, and the Police Neighborhood Resource Center are meant to provide citizens with a better living environment without outsourcing law enforcement.

    Although Bailey has seen progress  within his department, he remembers to coach his 19-year-old son on how to interact with a police officer.

    “Stay calm, do what the officer says,” said Bailey. “Even if he’s disrespecting you, do what he says. You can file a complaint later and it will go in the officer’s file. File a complaint later but do what the officer says.”

    Bailey’s memories of the fraudulent police force of his childhood help him to understand the rage and passion that burns within the hearts of young Americans in the wake of the Ferguson protests and the Eric Garner case. But Bailey knows that one day the streets will be silent again.

    “You can riot and protest all you want. What are you going to do when it stops?”

    Bailey experienced the frustration of feeling unheard. To those who wish to be influential he advises, “Get knowledge. Get education. If you want to make a difference, get involved.”

   “We aren’t robots.” Bailey added. “I imagine one day that they’ll have so many gadgets and cameras on us. I hope I’m long gone by then.”

   Bailey stresses that he is human, just like everyone else and wants to make a difference today, so that we may have a better tomorrow.